On 13 Mar 2004 18:04:00 GMT, (Bill Spohn) wrote:

We had an unusually cold day or two this winter (zone 8, bordering on 9) when
it went down to -9 C.(it usually hovers around freezing or maybe 2 or 3 degrees
below).

I lost a large Rosemary bush, and I guess I had forgotten that it was a bit
tender (others in less exposed locations came through without blinking).

Do people in less clement areas normally keep Roesmary as a pot plant?

Yes! For years I read about mulching them heavily, etc., etc. and
wound up with dead rosemary. Apparently "tender perennial" is the
kindest thing you can say about it.

I now have one in a ten inch pot that I set in the ground over the
summer -- May through mid-October in cold side of zone 6. I bring it
in when the first sub-freezing temperatures threaten. I prune it
back pretty well (my harvest for the year!) and keep it in front of a
window in a cool basement area. I've read conflicting reports about
it liking to be dry or not. I'm currently using a bonsai-type soil --
bark chips, granite grit, etc. that screens between 1/8" and 1/4 " for
good drainage and watering every few days.

Have had it a half dozen years now. It's blooming lightly as we
e-speak.

DaveT